For All It Was Worth
by MyNameIsCAL
Summary: The flock bands together one last time to stop the Doomsday Group's world takeover. Will they succeed? And what happened to Angel? In the end, was it all worth it? Plus, Max chooses between Fang and Dylan. Max's POV, Fang's POV
1. Chapter 1

**For All It Was Worth – Chapter 1**

By MyNameIsCAL

**As always, a big thanks to James Patterson for his characters. This is my first, and probably will be my only, spin on the ending of the Maximum Ride series. This in no way depicts what I want to happen, as far as deaths go. I suppose after we get the series ending, we'll see how things turn out. I've got a lot of stories to finish and a lot of other ideas I have. As long as people are reading, I'll be writing fics. But for anything branching off of what actually happened in the series, this will probably be it. All other fics that I write will most likely be alternate universe or only loosely based off of different parts of the series. I'd like to think James Patterson will give us not only a satisfactory ending that will leave room for us to continue to write fics, but also an ending that brings justice to the characters and peace to us fans.**

-Fang's POV-

I couldn't save them. I couldn't bring myself to kill Angel. She wasn't Angel though. Whoever, or whatever, was a monster, and that monster was hunting us.

"Give up, Fang!" Angel cackled. "Join me and we can take over the world! You can get your revenge on Max for turning on you for Dylan!"

My blood may have boiled for a second, but I knew that it was my doing she had done that.

"Kill me!" I shouted at her.

She shook her head. "I won't give you that satisfaction."

And then she was gone.

My ears seemed to ring with the silence as I ran towards the clearing through the trees.

I dropped to my knees as I reached the center. Maya lay there, the leaves and dirt under her stained with blood.

"Maya…" I didn't know what to do, so I took her hand. "Maya, stay with me."

Her eyes met mine, so familiar. "F-Fang…"

"Maya, I'm so sorry."

She squeezed my hand. "Go, Fang. Go before it's too late."

"I'm not going to leave you." I used my other hand to put pressure on her wound.

She shook her head. "It's too late for me, Fang. You did your best."

"This is my fault!"

"It's not. I know…I know it was hard for you…but..." she started to cough up blood. "You let m-me feel like I was m-my own p-p-person. Th-Thank you."

I opened my mouth, but her hand loosened on my hand and she was gone. Now that I thought about it, I didn't really know what to say.

I stumbled as I got up. It was getting colder now. I looked around me, all the trees looking the same now. My sense of direction was failing me.

And then I ran. I ran through the trees until I could run no further. After darkness fell, the erasers would hunt me. That was how I lost Ratchet and Kate. They had cornered us, despite our abilities. Only Maya and I could fly. I grabbed Holden and Star, but we were too late to save the others as the erasers tore them apart. That was only last night though. I looked down at my hands. Was this Maya's blood? Or was it still left over from when I had gone tearing back after Ratchet and Kate. In my rage I had scared the erasers off, but they had left me in a pool of blood which I was trying to erase from my head.

Angel had gotten Holden and Star. I was trying to forget that too. She had mind controlled them to battle each other to the death. I tried to save them too. I would have died doing it too if Maya hadn't dragged me off away from the oncoming erasers.

And now Maya was gone. I was alone with no one to watch my back. I wanted to take off and fly, but I knew it would be no use. Angel and the Doomsday Group were implementing world takeover as I stood here wasting time. I couldn't defeat them on my own though.

So I started to run again, hoping that it would by me some time, that even if destiny had decided I was going to die, at least I could go down fighting.

* * *

><p>-Max's POV-<p>

We were on some island that didn't exist on any map. Iggy had managed to start a fire and we were sitting under a makeshift shelter. Dylan had his arm around me, trying to keep me shivering. I wasn't cold, but I wasn't going to admit I was scared either.

"I can hear generators. They're far, but we're not the only ones here," Iggy said quietly.

The past few months had been tough. Jeb, Mom, and Ella were still missing and we hadn't heard from Fang or his flock in weeks. Right now, the only thing we were running on was a piece of paper with some coordinates that Angel had left. It led us here to this island. Somewhere between California and Asia. We had stowed away on a naval boat from Hawaii.

"We should wait until it's light out." Dylan glanced around. "We don't know what's out there."

I nodded, too tired to speak.

Iggy sat down on the opposite of the fire, his eyes closed. I knew he wouldn't sit next to Dylan because he still didn't trust him. He wouldn't sit next to Nudge either because they weren't talking. There was some fall out between them that I had missed. Now wasn't the time for relationship problems though. Iggy was so sure we were going to find Mom and Ella. Nudge just wanted comfort, but at least when it came to working together, they'd put their differences aside.

We decided to take turns sleeping. I let Iggy and Nudge sleep first, but Dylan insisted on keeping me company.

"You can't keep pretending Angel's alive, Max. I know you think we're going to find her, but she's gone. She couldn't have survived in that huge explosion." Dylan lifted his hand to brush the hair out of my face, but I stopped him.

"You don't know she's dead. We don't…we don't have proof!"

"It's okay to be in denial, Max. I just don't want you to not realize the reality of all of this." He let out a breath, dropping his hand. "I want you to know that I love you too. I know you don't feel the same way, but I want you to know anyway."

I bit my tongue. _You were created to love me, you idiot_.

We sat in silence for a while. I watched Nudge snuggle herself against Iggy. Surprisingly, he put his arm around her.

Dylan opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off. "Look if you're going to stay up anyway then I'm sleeping."

"Alright." He resigned and I turned my back to him as I lay a few feet away from Iggy.

When I opened my eyes again, the sun was just starting to come up. It wasn't the light that woke me up though. There was a rustle off in the distance. Everyone was up. The fire had burned out. Iggy held up his hand.

"I smell…blood," he whispered.

There was a rustling through the bushes and a figure emerged.

_Fang._


	2. Chapter 2

**For All It Was Worth – Chapter 2**

By MyNameIsCAL

**I'll only be splitting chapters between Fang's POV and Max's POV in the beginning. Once the story continues some more, I'll stick to one POV per chapter.**

-Fang's POV-

Max stared at me, first in horror, and then her eyes met mine. She opened her mouth, but the next thing that came was a loud explosion. I was sent flying forward. When my vision refocused, I was lying on the ground next to her. I reached my hand out towards her and she did the same.

"I'm sorry," I managed to say.

She gripped onto my hand. "Me too."

And then darkness consumed us.

* * *

><p>I awoke to a white room. It smelled like the school. At least I wasn't in a cage.<p>

"Max, he's awake."

I tried to sit up, but the room started to spin. Someone put their hands on my shoulders, steadying me. I was face to face with Max.

"Lie down," she said quietly. "You probably have a concussion."

I nodded and closed my eyes, leaning back slowly.

"Do you know where we are?" That was Dylan's voice.

"If we-we're still on the same island, then this is the Doomsday Group's headquarters." I sucked in a breath, hoping my moment of nausea would pass.

"And how did you end up here?" Max asked, her voice soft unlike Dylan's.

I opened my eyes. "You sent me a text, Max, with the coordinates for this island. My flock and I hopped on a boat and stowed away until we reached here. I thought you were in trouble since you never answered me back…"

"We never texted you," Dylan frowned.

"Maybe this was meant to be a trap," Iggy said. "I can hear those generators. Their loud now, at least louder than where we were before. He's right about being on the island still. The ocean's distant."

"Where's the rest of your flock?" Gazzy asked quietly.

I shut my eyes. "Dead."

"What?"

Nudge was the one who asked the question I didn't want to have to answer. "What happened to them?"

I let out a breath. "Angel killed them."

No one said anything for a long time.

"What do you mean?" Max finally pressed.

"The Doomsday Group is using Angel as the key to their world takeover," I explained. "She is everything. I'm pretty sure she's controlling everything. Whatever brain power she had before is now one hundred times stronger. She's not Angel anymore. She's…She's turned into some sadistic and cruel monster. I-I had to watch them all get killed."

"Angel wouldn't do that," Gazzy shook his head. "There has to be a way to save her. She has to be in there somewhere."

"I hope so." But part of me was already losing hope.

* * *

><p>-Max's POV-<p>

My anger at Fang had suddenly disappeared. All this time he thought he was coming to help me. Someone had tricked us both into being here. That paper probably hadn't been Angel's at all, unless she was already plotting against us back then. But she had saved Gazzy and Fang's lives back in Paris.

If I didn't know Fang so well, I might have thought he was a different person. He had lost so much weight. His clothes almost seemed to drape around him and his hair was too long now. He had cuts and bruises. His shirt and pants were torn in several places. Not to mention the blood he was covered in. The blood of his flock. The blood of our allies. I could only imagine what he had been through.

"Someone's coming," Iggy whispered.

We all turned to face the door. Fang sat up, and I grabbed him by the arm to steady him. The door slid open and two erasers entered with Angel.

"I see you've found each other," Angel remarked. "But I sense that all your mixed feelings didn't make this a happy reunion."

Fang glared at her. "How could you do this to us, Angel? How could you just let all my friends be slaughtered like that?"

"Because in the new world we're creating," Angel said, "They wouldn't survive."

"You're a monster," he snarled back.

She took a few steps towards him. "You're getting a second chance. Actually, you've gotten plenty of them. I'm surprised Max didn't kill you when she first saw you. Now, Fang, join me, and we can stop all of this nonsense."

"Never!"

Angel kick him across the face. There was a very audible cracking sound that came from his nose. His nose was gushing blood now.

"You're a fool, Fang. Your feelings cloud your ability to make the right decisions. Stop fighting for Max. You need to fight for yourself." Angel turned on her heel. "I'll deal with you all later."

The erasers followed her out and the door shut behind them.

Dylan ripped a piece of his shirt off and I pressed up to Fang's nose. We had to stop the bleeding or he was going to pass out.

"Fang, look at me." I forced him to meet my eyes. "You're going to be okay. Breathe through your mouth. C'mon…"

He finally sucked in a breath.

"Here, lean against me."

Fang put his weight against me, his hand clamped over his nose. He sucked in a few more breaths, his eyes now closed.

"I-I can't believe she…" Gazzy slumped against the wall. "Angel…"

None of us could believe it either. _Our_ Angel would never do something like this, let alone _slaughter_ innocent people. Our silence was because of our shock. What else was there to say?

Fang's nose stopped bleeding thankfully. He had his head propped up against my leg now. I couldn't tell if he was asleep or not, but that hardly mattered right now. Fang was a fighter, and it wasn't the first time he'd had a broken nose. I just hoped that if we need to run, he'd still be able to.

The door opened again after what seemed like an eternity. Two erasers stepped in.

"Get up," one of them growled. "All of you. It's time for the final test."

Dylan and I had to carry Fang out of the room. He could barely move his legs.

The hall had one door at the end. We went through it and into another white room. A blast of cold air hit us. Fang suddenly jolted up into standing position.

"Iggy, don't move forward. We're standing on a ledge of ice!" Fang warned.

Iggy froze, placing his feet together.

"Welcome to our Arctic Arena!" Angel's voice boomed above us. "This is your final test! The last person standing shall rule the world with me. Of course I'll intervene if I have to. Now, all of you, get onto the ground floor! I hope you all don't mind the cold."

Dylan took off first and we watched him land. I tapped Iggy's hand as a sign I was going next and then took off with Fang. Fang seemed to have regained a little strength back. Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy came together.

I looked around. There was a huge pool of water in the center of the floor. The tops of the walls were lined with glass. White coats stood watching us. In the window directly above us stood Angel. She gave us a cruel smile.

Several doors opened around us and the smell of wet dog filled the air. I had to stop myself from cringing.

"Begin!"

The erasers dashed towards us.

It took a kick to the chest to knock out the eraser that charged at me. This was too easy.

Fang caught my eye after he gave one last kick to the eraser he was fighting.

"She wants us to kill each other," he said, reading my mind.

"What?"

"This is a game to her. She's torturing us. Max, if she wanted to kill us all right away, I'd be dead." His gaze fell to the floor. "I begged her to kill me, but she told me she wouldn't give me that satisfaction."

Before I could say anything, one of the doors opened again. Fang's eyes met mine once more and then he turned.

"The erasers were never enough. I thought it would be a good warm up though," Angel remarked. "Here's a little surprise for you, Fang."

Fang's eyes widened as Maya stepped through the doorway.

"Fight!" Angel barked.

It was clear that they weren't themselves though. She diverged on Fang. Maya grabbed Fang by the front of his shirt.

"Maya!" Fang was being choked. "St-Stop!"

Dylan lunged at Maya. She let go of Fang and grabbed Dylan with almost super human strength and hurled him into one of the icy ledges. Ice fell from above him. He looked dazed.

I had to admit, it was sort of surreal seeing yourself be mind controlled by Angel.

"You have to _kill_ her, Fang," Angel said.

He shook his head.

"She's not Maya anymore," Angel went on. "Otherwise she's going to kill you."

Maya charged at Fang and they plummeted to the ground. Fang was letting it happen. Punch after punch he took to the face. His nose had started to bleed again. I started towards them, and she turned and punched me in the gut, sending me flying towards Iggy. What had they done to her?

"HEY! MAYA!"

Everyone turned to face Gazzy, even Maya.

Fang pushed Maya backwards and freed himself from her grip. Then Gazzy lobbed something at Maya and Fang jumped towards me, pushing me to the ground. There was a huge splash and then an explosion to follow.

"Oh gosh, sorry." Fang clamped his hand over his nose and rolled off of me. His blood on my shirt was hardly something to worry about right now though.

I glanced back at the water. Blood now clouded it.


	3. Chapter 3

**For All It Was Worth – Chapter 3**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Fang's POV-

Angel was furious. She sent in an army of erasers next. I could barely hold myself up though. It didn't take much to knock out the erasers, but I felt weaker after ever blow I gave. Max and Dylan were on each side of me, trying to help me.

And then we finally finished off the last one.

"I don't understand!" Angel roared. "Why would you save him?"

Gazzy was the one who spoke up. "Because Fang's saved us a bunch of times! You think we're going to betray one another just so we can live and take over the world with you?"

"It could be you, Gazzy," Angel said, her tone softer now. "Brother and sister. We'd be a dynamic duo."

"YOU'RE NOT MY SISTER!" he bellowed. "Angel would never do this."

Angel disappeared from the window.

"Gazzy, where did you get that bomb from?" Nudge asked.

"I hid it inside of my pants." He stared at the ground.

It would have been comical if we weren't in the middle of a death trap.

The door opened against and Angel entered this so-called Arctic Arena. Behind her were Jeb, Dr. M, and Ella. Two erasers brought up the rear.

"You've left me no choice but to choose for you," Angel scoffed. "I don't have time for this. Preparation is over. My world takeover is going into effect now and I am going to choose one of you to help me against your own will. But first, to get rid of you who are useless."

Angel stuck out her hand and one of the erasers handed her a revolver. She spun the cylinder that held the bullets and then pointed it at me.

"Let's see if you'll be spared again," Angel hissed.

She pulled the trigger and I winced.

* * *

><p>-Max's POV-<p>

_Click._

Fang let out a breath.

"Turn around!" Angel snapped. "Or I'll kill Max."

"No, Fang!" I protested, but he turned.

"You think I'm going to let you die in peace? You still have to suffer!" She fired twice into the back of his leg and he went toppling into the water.

I wanted to run to him, but she pointed the gun at me and then to Iggy. So instead I watched Fang's blood begin to tint the water red as he tried to grip onto the side of the pool.

"It's obvious why you're useless," she said curtly. "You can't see and you're not even interested in your own kind. Any last words to Ella, Iggy?"

He opened his mouth, but Angel fired. The bullet hit him square in the chest. Ella and Nudge both let out cries. Angel gave no protest to Nudge kneeling next to him, trying to put pressure on the wound.

Angel pointed the gun at me

"Angel, stop this!" Jeb cut in. "We can reverse all this. We can save everyone!"

"You started this, Jeb. You had all your chances to save us, but you blew it!" Angel swerved and fired at Jeb.

He fell in a clump on the ground, lifeless. She had shot him in the head. I couldn't look at him lying on the floor like that. As I turned away, Angel spoke to me.

"Now, Max." There was not one bit of compassion in her voice. As angry as I had been at Jeb, he didn't deserve that.

Suddenly Dylan lunged at Angel. Almost gracefully, she grabbed him and had the gun pressed to his chest. He was a foot taller yet it was she who had the upperhand.

"I should have killed you first, Dylan," she let out a sigh of exasperation. "Things would have been simpler without you. You're pathetic, though. Created to love Max. The sad thing is that she's going to have to choose between you and Fang. And I'm going to make this easier for her by eliminating you. The odds aren't in your favor anyways."

But Dylan's knees buckled, and Angel lost her grip on him. He pulled his hand over Angel's. They were fighting over the gun.

I started towards them.

There was nothing I could do though. The gun went off.

I had to blink twice. Dylan was the one standing and Angel was on the ground. The two erasers that were standing behind Dr. M and Ella had collapsed.

Dylan clamped his hand over his shoulder. The bullet had gone through him and into Angel. She lay lifeless on the floor.

Gazzy rushed towards Angel. He dropped to his knees next to her.

"Angel!" he screamed.

Dylan shut his eyes. "Max, you have to get Fang."

Something clicked inside of me and I rushed quickly to the water. Fang was still hanging onto the edge of the ice. I managed to pull him up onto the floor.

"M-M-Max…" He was shaking violently.

"Just hang in there. We'll get you help, I promise." I grabbed his hand. "You've made it this far, Fang."

He gripped onto my hand weakly. "I-I love you, Max."

"I love you too, Fang."

He started to close his eyes.

"Fang! Please, don't let go."

There was a huge explosion above us and the sky appeared through the smoke. The noise of helicopters deafened us. Ropes rolled out and men in uniforms slid down them.

"B-Be safe, Max." Fang let go of my hand. "They're on our s-s-side."

And then he was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**For All It Was Worth – Chapter 4**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Max's POV-

In the end, Jeb and Fang had saved us. The US Navy had been informed twice of distress signals. They knew something was happening on this island, and when Jeb had set off the first signal, they began to monitor the island. When Fang set off the second signal when he fell into the pool, they knew exactly where we were.

"Seems like your friend stole the signal from one of our ships," one of the officers had said to me. "He saved your lives though."

It hardly felt like a triumph though. Angel was dead, Iggy was stuck on a respirator, and Fang's knee needed to be reconstructed after being blow out by Angel's bullet. To make things worse, the bullets Angel fired seemed to be designed to inhibit their healing factors. Fang had been shot twice, so his recovery seemed to be reduced to a crawl. At least Iggy and Dylan were showing some improvement.

Fang had been right though. Angel was out to torture us since she couldn't make us join her.

The government promised us protection though. We would never get the recognition for saving the world. What happened in Paris all those months ago was simply described as a riot. They were compensating us though. Not that I was concerned with that right now, but it was comforting to know that after they decided it was safe for us to leave the naval base that we wouldn't suddenly find ourselves drowning in the real world trying to fend for ourselves.

I should have been outside taking in the fresh ocean air. There were plenty of things to occupy us on the base, but instead I sat in Fang's room and watched the monitors blip.

Well, mostly because I wanted to be alone. I couldn't deal with people right now. Nudge and Ella were glued to the seats outside of Iggy's room. Gazzy, that poor kid, was heartbroken. He refused to speak to Dylan. I knew there was nothing else that could have been done though. Gazzy would understand that eventually. As for Dylan, well, he was probably the only one who was keeping his emotions in check.

The days went by and the investigation of the Doomsday Group continued. They'd tell us new information every now and then, but none of it was relevant. It didn't matter. We saved the world and that was that.

On the end of our first week at the base, Iggy and Fang's conditions had stabilized. They still had to keep Iggy on the respirator and Fang sedated because of the pain. I went between both of their rooms, sitting and thinking about everything. Arrangements for Angel, Jeb, and Fang's flock had just been arranged. I didn't want to think about that though.

I was sitting in Fang's room when Dylan came in and sat next to me.

"He's going to be okay," Dylan assured me.

I sat staring at Fang though. "I know."

Dylan let out a sigh. "C'mon, let's go take a walk before dinner. The fresh air will be good for you."

I gave in and followed him out of the room.

* * *

><p>A week and a half passed by slowly. I was with Gazzy in Iggy's room, hoping he would wake up soon. They had taken him off the respirator this morning and Gazzy was anxious to talk to him.<p>

"You don't have to sit here with me," Gazzy muttered.

I rustled his hair. "I'll go if you want."

He shook his head. "Nah, stay. I just…I don't want to see Dylan."

"He knows to keep his distance."

Suddenly, Gazzy buried his face in his hands.

"Gazzy, c'mere." I wrapped an arm around him. "It's ok."

Sometimes I forgot that Gazzy was just a kid, but seeing him now like this was driving a hole through my heart.

"I miss her so much," he sobbed. "Why did it have to end like this, Max?"

"I'm sorry, Gazzy. I wish I could change all of this."

He shook against me and curled up into a ball. There wasn't anything else I could say to comfort him. I think he just needed to let it out. He'd been holding it back for a long time. I'm not even sure it had all hit me yet.

His sobs began to subside and turn into shudders. Then for a while he just stayed curled up against me. I smoothed out his hair.

"Thanks, Max," he said in almost a whisper.

"I'm glad I could help." I shrugged. "You know I'm not good at this kinda stuff."

"No one should be," he replied.

* * *

><p>Iggy came around late that night. I had spent all day in there with Gazzy, except when we went to eat dinner.<p>

"Max?"

"Hey, Iggy, I'm right here with Gazzy."

He blinked a few times. "I'm not dead."

"N-No you're not," I replied.

He let out a laugh. "Good because I'd like to think that I'll be able to see in my next life."

I felt myself smile a little. Even Gazzy let out a laugh.

"Where are we anyways?" He planted his hand on his chest, wincing. "I suppose I've missed a lot."

My smile faded and I let out a breath. We spent the next half hour answering all his questions and explaining everything that happened.

"So when do we get out of here?" he asked.

"I guess when Fang's ready to get out of here. Which won't be for a while." I looked out the window. "We're by the beach though. It's beautiful here. Not like a prison or anything unless you're inside."

"Yeah, you'll like the beach," Gazzy agreed.

Iggy closed his eyes. "I'm really sorry, Gazzy."

"I did my crying already. There's nothing to be sorry about." He rose from his chair. "I'll be right back. Bathroom…"

Iggy waited for him to leave. "Max, I've never heard him so broken up like that."

"He waited all day for you to wake up. Besides Angel, you're the one he trusts the most."

"You don't have to tell me he needs me, Max. I know." Iggy grimaced, his hand shooting to his chest. "And I'm gonna do what I can, for Angel. For the Angel we knew. You go worry about Fang now. And…Thanks for being here for me."

I patted Iggy on the arm. "Of course."


	5. Chapter 5

**For All It Was Worth – Chapter 5**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Max's POV-

The fact that Iggy was still in a lot of pain did not bode well for Fang. It would probably be another few days before we could talk about waking Fang up. There was no doubt it would be a long road to recovery for Fang. I just hoped he would still be motivated, but I had a feeling he'd only be hard on himself. Especially after losing his entire flock.

Iggy wasn't up for seeing anyone really. The doctor was trying to keep his heart rate down. They were afraid stress would make the pain flare up. Needless to say, Ella and Nudge weren't happy that he only wanted to see Gazzy and me.

I was also trying to keep my distance from Dylan. I know he wanted to talk about us, so I'd go visit Fang in the morning, hide away in Iggy's room during the day, and crash on the couch in Fang's room at night. I just wanted space to breathe without worrying about what he wanted to say.

I was in Iggy's room right now lying on the couch. Gazzy was sitting next to Iggy's bed and they were talking about food.

"I miss your cooking," Gazzy said. "The food they have here is crap."

"I'll cook you up a big meal when we get out of here," Iggy promised him.

Gazzy turned to me. "Max, what's going to happen after we're able to leave?"

I stared up at the ceiling. "I guess we could find our own place or maybe stay with Mom for a little bit."

"Are you going to take Fang back?" Gazzy asked.

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to have to discuss this now. "Of course. He's still part of the flock."

"No, I mean…like, are you two going to be in a relationship again?" Gazzy clarified.

I let out a breath. The truth was, I wanted Fang. But yet I had these feelings for Dylan too. "I don't know, Gazzy."

He looked disappointed.

* * *

><p>It was nearly midnight. I sat in Fang's room listening to the blips from his heart rate monitor and watching the morphine in his IV drip.<p>

There was a knock on the door and I almost jumped up. It was only Dylan though.

"Sorry." He gave me a small smile. "I thought we should talk."

I focused my attention on Fang. "Talk about what, Dylan?"

"About us."

"It's not the time for this."

He sat down next to me. "If I don't talk to you before he wakes up, I'll never get my say, Max."

"Alright, well, then talk."

"Max, I love you. I was here for you when he wasn't. Now I don't want to say I hate Fang. I know you care about him a lot, and you've been through things with him that you haven't with me. I just don't want you to forget that I care about you." He let out a breath. "I honestly think choosing Fang would be a mistake. And I'm going to fight for you."

I closed my eyes, wishing he would go away. What was I supposed to say to him?

He spoke again though. "Look, I know you just want your space now. But I'm here for you, okay?"

"Alright, Dylan, thanks."

He rose off the couch and left without another word.

* * *

><p>The next few days dragged on slowly. I talked to Mom about what was going to happen next and agreed we would stay with her before we found our own place to live. Then I took Gazzy out by the water to walk along the wet sand. We ended up sitting on the beach when we got tired. Gazzy had brought a blanket.<p>

"Max, you have to pick Fang." Gazzy said as he lay down.

I lay down next to him. "It's not that I don't want to, but what's got you so sure?"

He didn't answer for a long time. "I don't know, Max. I just feel like that's right. He hasn't been around, but he's been fighting for you. I don't think he'd still be alive if it weren't for you. He would have given up."

Gazzy was right. If Fang had thought I was dead, this whole situation could have played out a lot differently.

"Can I ask you something, Max?"

"Of course, Gazzy."

"Do you think there might have been a way to save Angel?"

I didn't answer for a long time. "Based on what happened, no. But there must have been a way."

"We were too late." Gazzy let out a sigh. "I don't know. I don't want to be mad at Dylan, but I can't forgive him. Angel was in there somewhere and he killed her. But then it's like…there was no other way."

"I'm sorry, Gazzy."

He sniffled. "It's ok, she's in a better place now. Somewhere nice where she's not being tortured."

I nodded. That was a nice notion. It was better to think of it that way.


End file.
